Bible League: Living His Word “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”— Hebrews 10:38 NKJV As Christians, we are just. That means we are justified, declared righteous. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our righteousness is not our own. It was given to us by God. On what basis? It was given to us on the basis of our faith. “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last” (Romans 1:17 NIV). Our verse for today says that “the just shall live by faith.” That is, the just shall continue to live by faith. Since we began our lives as Christians by faith, we should continue to live by faith in God. As the Proverb says, we should “Trust in the Lord with all your heart” and we should “lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5-6). When we first believed we stepped out in faith and believed what God told us in the gospel, and we should continue to step out in faith and believe what God tells us. Faith in God is not a one-time proposition. For Christians, it’s a way of life. The great temptation of life, however, is to draw back from faith in God. Instead of confronting the trials, troubles, tribulations, and persecutions of a life of faith, the temptation is to draw back and look for another easier way. After all, if our faith in God led us to a place of trial and trouble, then doesn’t it make sense to question the life of faith? Real trouble can raise doubts and fears. We may question the wisdom of trust in the Lord and begin to test the merits of our own understanding. If we want to please the soul of God, however, then it doesn’t make sense to doubt. Our verse quotes God as saying, “if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” God doesn’t like it when we shrink back from faith. He doesn’t like it when we question the direction He takes us in. He expects us to stick with Him in good times and bad. Sometimes, He even tests us with trouble to strengthen and prove our faith in Him (James 1:2-4). Don’t draw back, then. Don’t draw back from faith in God. Press on to a deeper trust. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingNehemiah 9, 10, 11 Nehemiah 9 -- The Israelites Confess Their Sin, Covenant Results NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Nehemiah 10 -- Signers and Obligations of the Covenant NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Nehemiah 11 -- New Residents of Jerusalem and Judah NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Acts 4:1-22 Acts 4 -- Peter and John Arrested and Released; Believers Share All NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don't doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and it will happen.”Insight Many have wondered about Jesus' statement that if we have faith and don't doubt, we can move mountains. Jesus, of course, was not suggesting that his followers use prayer as “magic” and perform capricious “mountain-moving” acts. Instead, he was making a strong point about the disciples' (and our) lack of faith. Challenge What kinds of mountains do you face? Have you talked to God about them? How strong is your faith? Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.Rich were the blessings of this day if all of us were filled with the Holy Ghost. The consequences of this sacred filling of the soul it would be impossible to overestimate. Life, comfort, light, purity, power, peace; and many other precious blessings are inseparable from the Spirit's benign presence. As sacred oil, he anoints the head of the believer, sets him apart to the priesthood of saints, and gives him grace to execute his office aright. As the only truly purifying water he cleanses us from the power of sin and sanctifies us unto holiness, working in us to will and to do of the Lord's good pleasure. As the light, he manifested to us at first our lost estate, and now he reveals the Lord Jesus to us and in us, and guides us in the way of righteousness. Enlightened by his pure celestial ray, we are no more darkness but light in the Lord. As fire, he both purges us from dross, and sets our consecrated nature on a blaze. He is the sacrificial flame by which we are enabled to offer our whole souls as a living sacrifice unto God. As heavenly dew, he removes our barrenness and fertilizes our lives. O that he would drop from above upon us at this early hour! Such morning dew would be a sweet commencement for the day. As the dove, with wings of peaceful love he broods over his Church and over the souls of believers, and as a Comforter he dispels the cares and doubts which mar the peace of his beloved. He descends upon the chosen as upon the Lord in Jordan, and bears witness to their sonship by working in them a filial spirit by which they cry Abba, Father. As the wind, he brings the breath of life to men; blowing where he listeth he performs the quickening operations by which the spiritual creation is animated and sustained. Would to God, that we might feel his presence this day and every day. Daily Light on the Daily Path Hebrews 2:14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Revelation 21:27 and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. Leviticus 19:2 "Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, 'You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. 1 Peter 1:14-17 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, • but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; • because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY." • If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; Ephesians 4:22-24 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, • and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, • and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Ephesians 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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